


Something in Your Eyes

by caelestislux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Anxiety Attacks, Bisexual Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Canon Jewish Character, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Declarations Of Love, Enemies to Lovers, Evillustrator - Freeform, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Gay Marc Anciel, Genderfluid Marc Anciel, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Marc Anciel Has an Anxiety Disorder, Masks, Nathaniel Kurtzberg Has ADHD, They're not actually akumatized though, reverser - Freeform, villains in love, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27941516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caelestislux/pseuds/caelestislux
Summary: Given a chance to improve his life, Nathaniel became the supervillain Evillustrator, and he and his "teammate" Reverser quickly became bitter enemies. Hawkmoth's getting tired of their constant failures, so he's giving them one last chance to succeed or else, and Nathaniel's plenty excited to finally stop being around Reverser.He is, right?Rather then dwell on his strange mixture of emotions, he chooses to repress them whilst attending a masquerade ball, where he and Reverser are undercover as their civilian selves. But quiet moments often reveal more confessions than intended...
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Marc Anciel, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Inverso | Reverser/Le Dessinateur | The Evillustrator, Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	Something in Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I got tired of studying for finals, so here's this! Hopefully it makes sense, the idea just stick with me and wouldn't leave. CW for description of anxiety attack, though it's mild.

Hawkmoth was irritable again. 

It wasn’t anything that Nathaniel, currently the Evillustrator, hadn’t expected. He and his teammate—in the loosest sense of the word—got chewed out more often than not. How they hadn’t defeated the heroes this time, how they didn’t listen to their clear and defined instructions correctly, how much of _failures_ they were . . .

“. . . and this is the last straw.” Hawkmoth snapped, his eyes narrowed underneath his mask. “I give you every opportunity, and you both still spit on my kindness and generosity. _Look at me when I speak to you._ ”

At his tonal shift, Evillustrator flicked his eyes upwards, though the eye contact nearly destroyed him. Looking people in the eye made his stomach turn. The soft light of the butterfly-infested lair cast strange violet shadows over the trio, giving all three an eerie and inhuman glow.

“Better. I will give you both one more chance.”

 _One more chance before what?_

When he’d been offered full-time villainy, working to stop the heroes and steal their jewelry in exchange for a decent amount of money, Nathaniel Kurtzberg hadn’t realized how much of an absolute asshole his “manager” was. Instead of becoming a permanent akuma, he’d been given the ability to transform back and forth between his civilian and villainous forms at will with the help of a pen. But of course this didn’t come without a price, and the price in question was being held nearly hostage to constant demands and higher and higher standards. And when he didn’t fulfill these standards, he could expect shouting, often in his face, and threats of blackmail that were too sincere to be fully empty. He wasn’t too positive that Hawkmoth could kill him via some sort of magic, but he kept himself quiet around the man just in case. 

“If I weren’t so nice, I would lose the both of you on the spot, but a perfect opportunity had presented itself. And I don’t expect either of you to fail me in this task. I don’t suppose you’d like a broadcast of your identities?”

If any of this bothered Reverser, he didn’t show it. He stood there with his origami-looking arms crossed over his chest, chewing on some gum with his black and white lips pursed in a scowl. God, he was such a prick sometimes.

As if to rub salt on his wounds, after a few months of working, Evillustrator had been gifted the _wonderful_ arrival of Reverser, who was intended to be his teammate and partner. And Evillustrator had tried to make friends with the newcomer right away, attempting to find solace and friendship with his to-be partner. But Reverser had made it clear from day one that he was going to be sullen, quiet, and driven, only focused on the task at hand with no time for pleasantries or shit-talking Hawkmoth’s horrible management. Under his mysterious and eerie appearance, he saw things black and white, quite fittingly. Things were always one way or another with him, and if Evillustrator ever chose an unlikable option, he would receive the full extent of Reverser’s silence.

“So?” Reverser asked. Speak of the devil. “Where should we meet for this _party?”_

Party? Evillustrator didn’t ask, as it would make it clear he’d let his thoughts stray as usual, but he also kept his ears tuned for any information pertaining to the topic. Maybe he could piece together the answer . . .

“Tomorrow evening, at the Bourgeois Hotel.” Hawkmoth cast a curt glance over towards Evillustrator, who immediately met his eyes. “Do not disappoint me again.”

On their way out of the lair, Evillustrator hung back, keeping his stride slow to match Reverser’s careful one. If the other villain was able to make it to his hoverboard, he’d fly off, leaving Evillustrator in the dust, and that wouldn’t uncover any answers about the next day’s plans.

“Hey.” Evillustrator attempted, trying to look casual.

Reverser cast a glance downwards. “You didn’t listen to him.”

“Was it that obvious? What’s this about a party?”

“Number one, yes it was that obvious. You ought to work on that.” Reverser shook his head in apparent embarrassment, sending his hood swaying in the wind. “And number two, we are to be attending a masquerade ball tomorrow night at the Bourgeois Hotel. We’re going in our civilian forms, though. Ladybug and Chat Noir are attending, and if we can stay inconspicuous, we can finally capture their miraculouses and gain our promised rewards.”

“And then I never have to see you again.” Evillustrator rolled his eyes, crossing his arms not unlike the way Reverser had before. “But our civilian forms? I thought we weren’t supposed to know who each other are.”

Reverser sighed. “We’re wearing _masks_.”

In Evillustrator’s opinion, that wasn’t going to help much, but it seemed to work for Ladybug and Chat Noir, so he stayed silent on that matter. Instead, he added, “But how will I find you in the crowd? I have no idea what you look like as a civilian.”

“Trust me.” Reverser told him, stepping onto the edge of his hoverboard with one heeled boot. “You’ll recognize me.” 

“That’s not comforting.”

“I never said it was. Just . . . you’ll see me. Or I’ll find you, whichever.” Reverser paused, glancing towards the side before turning back to his partner, lips pressed together and one eyebrow raised. For the first time since the two had become partners, he appeared to be sort of uncomfortable. “You’re looking forward to never seeing me again?”

“No.” Evillustrator lied. “I was just saying . . . you know.” He waved a hand in the air as if searching for a certain word. “. . . whatever.”

Reverser frowned. “You don’t have to lie.”

And before either of them could say anything else, he fully stepped onto the hoverboard and flew off into the distance. Evillustrator couldn’t move, watching the other villain fade into the sky until he was gone completely, leaving nothing behind but a strange set of feelings and emotions. 

This plan was the perfect chance to finally best the heroes, knowing that the two had become accustomed to Evillustrator and Reverser’s powers and weaknesses. Obviously, they couldn’t plan for anything if the villains were to blend into the crowd, hiding in plain sight. But not only would this be the end of the cash flow, it would also be the last time Evillustrator and Reverser were going to see each other. That should’ve been a good thing, right? 

So why was Evillustrator feeling so strange about it?

  
  


The fight before hadn’t gone well. 

Evillustrator had the power to create anything he pleased, only stopped by darkness and an inability to see. Well, that and being out of ideas of what to draw next. His thoughts appeared in multitudes, giving him too many good snippets of ideas, and nothing concrete and solid. It was so much easier when he knew what he was facing on his own, but since Reverser’s arrival, he didn’t know what to do, what his companion was going to do. Reverser, while stoic and quiet, was a powerhouse, and he tended to be unpredictable.

And for that reason, they lost.

“From careful to— _what are you doing?”_ Reverser cried, momentarily distracted from his mantra by the Evillustrator’s temporary pause. He stared down at Evillustrator from his hoverboard, confusion and shock written all over his face.

Chat Noir took that moment to raise his staff, batting the villain’s paper plane from his hand and inadvertently aiming it towards Evillustrator, who had to duck last minute.

_“Reverser!”_

“I didn’t make you stop there, did I?” Reverser shot back, forming double paper planes in his hands. “So maybe you could actually _do something_ for once?”

Hurt and stunned, though he should’ve been used to the other’s rapid-fire insults and choice words towards him, Evillustrator spat, “Yeah? Maybe watch your own damn airplanes.”

Reverser turned, lips pressed tightly together. “I’m not having this conversation.”

And the chaos didn’t get much better from there. Despite being two hyper-competent villains, they were both in a mood with each other, as they tended to be. Evillustrator couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by bitter feelings as he noted that every day he worked with Reverser, they had a worse and worse chance to actually complete Hawkmoth’s goal. The other villain was more than a distraction, he was the reason that Evillustrator was unable to be as much of a terror as he would be otherwise.

Did Reverser’s attitude help? Absolutely not.

So in the end, the two had to head back to Hawkmoth’s lair without either of the miraculouses as they had time and time again, the two heroes almost having captured the two before they got away in time. And he couldn’t help but feel like Reverser was focused on Evillustrator himself—too focused—since he hadn’t thought of any sort of clever reversion in time. Not that Evillustrator was much better in that regard.

He hated to admit it, but he and Reverser didn’t work well together in a fight, getting in each other’s way and probably overthinking what the other was going to do. He _did_ think about Reverser a lot, mostly about how much the other villain was just making life so much worse. That probably wasn’t helping, but neither was Reverser’s presence.

In short, he was absolutely thrilled to go to this party, even if he hated social events, because after this, he’d probably never be around Reverser again.

Still . . . if that was the case, then why was guilt building in his heart over the words he’d said? Reverser knew how he felt about him—and probably felt the same way—so he shouldn’t have been surprised. And he probably wasn’t.

But something was still wrong.

  
  


The next evening, Nathaniel stood outside of the Bourgeois Hotel, waiting patiently for any sign of his teammate. Was Reverser just being cocky when he said that he’d be recognizable? So far, everyone appeared to be a bit older than Nathaniel, and he’s always assumed that Reverser was his own age. Still, Reverser had both invitations, so Nathaniel had to wait.

He’d attempted to put together a decent-looking ensemble of a three-piece suit that he’d worn for his bar mitzvah—he hadn’t grown much since then, fortunately in this case—dress shoes, and a purple tie as a hint as to his identity, in case Reverser couldn’t recognize him. He’d also attempted to create a mask very similar to Evillustrator’s facial markings, though with some craft store sequins and such to disguise it from anyone suspicious. Then again, he was already anxious that his bright red hair was going to be a dead giveaway.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

Startled, Nathaniel jumped, expecting to have to come up with a story of his presence on the fly, but it was only a boy his age, face slightly shrouded by a black and white mask—

Reverser.

Nathaniel hadn’t known what to expect of the other’s civilian form, but Reverser turned out to be pale—not stark white like his villainous form—with wavy black hair. He also had brilliant green eyes, which stood out dramatically against the duo-chromatic mask. As for his outfit, he wore a dark jacket over a white dress shirt, a soft black skirt, and dark boots. His lips were painted black with lipstick, and he seemed to be wearing matching eyeshadow and nail polish.

He honestly looked . . . beautiful.

“You had the same idea I did.” Nathaniel said, motioning to the other’s mask. “Did you remember to bring the invitations?”

Reverser nodded, holding up both cards with false names on them. “Nice outfit.”

“You too. I didn’t know you wore makeup as a civilian.”

The other villain pressed a light hand against his cheek, which Nathaniel could now see bore a slight dusting of blush. It just looked so natural, like he was actually blushing or something. “Well, I do. And we shouldn’t be having this discussion here, anyway.”

Nathaniel glanced backwards, nodding at the people pouring in through the hotel doors. “You’re right. But I didn’t mean you looked _bad_ or anything . . . I just didn’t know you wore makeup, um, _often._ It looks good on you.”

“Those are interesting words coming from the person who never wanted to see me again.” Reverser shoved one of the invitations towards Nathaniel, eyes cast firmly downward. “Just take it. I want to be done with this as much as you do.”

Wordlessly, Nathaniel grabbed the invitation from Reverser’s outstretched hand, not daring to look at his face. He was almost _ashamed_ to look at Reverser, to see the other boy’s somber expression. He couldn’t figure out why, exactly, but some odd, unidentifiable emotion had arisen, sending pangs through his heart. 

Something was definitely bothering him. But he couldn’t place what.

  
  


After standing at the outskirts of the party for a good half hour, Nathaniel was starting to get bored and antsy. He blamed it on his ADHD, as usual, which was currently making him drum his fingers against the food table to his left and adjust his crossed legs every couple seconds. He just wanted to _leave,_ to walk around for a bit, but he had to wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to make their first appearance, and they hadn’t arrived yet.

Reverser, on the other hand, was still as a statue, still not looking towards Nathaniel at all. He seemed pretty uncomfortable with all the people, just judging by his stiff posture and the way he kept his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Even his jade eyes seemed duller, muted by the dimmed lights of the Bourgeois ballroom.

“Hey.” Nathaniel finally spoke up, breaking their silence and turning to face Reverser and his deep, deep eyes. “I’m sorry I said that about you before. You know, the thing about not wanting to see you ever again.”

“Oh.” Reverser said, glancing towards the side with an inscrutable look on his face. And after seemingly thinking through his words, he added, “Don’t apologize. I don’t deserve anything from you.”

“Yeah, but I still was rude.”

“That doesn’t mean I deserve your pity.” Reverser turned to the side, his expression filled with some type of emotion, something along the lines of shame and fear. “You’ve always been nice, and I just . . . yeah.”

“Then why have you been . . . like that?”

Reverser muttered something under his breath.

“Um, sorry, I didn’t hear you . . .”

“Because I have a _stupid fucking crush_ on you, that’s why!” Reverser snapped, keeping his voice quiet, but the hurt and anger was still evident in his tone. _“Okay?_ I’ve always liked you, but I didn’t want to get close, so I was trying to make you hate me so you’d leave me alone. No one ever likes me back—I’m used to it by now—and you’re probably straight anyway . . . ”

Nathaniel froze, the other’s confession running through his head like a newsreel. _Reverser_ **_liked_ ** _him, he had a_ **_crush_ ** _on him, he wasn’t actually an asshole, it was all just a facade that he was putting on intentionally . . ._

Where were they going to go from here?

“I’m not.”

Reverser blinked. “Not what?”

“Not straight. I’m bi.” 

Nathaniel glanced to the side making sure that no one was listening to them. He was still processing Reverser’s words, the fact that the other’s anger and hostility was just intended to be a means of pushing him away . . . and it worked. But a little of the pent-up irritation towards his teammate faded into something else, some kind of _pity._ He’d also experienced a friend not liking him back, and he could fully understand why Reverser had acted like that. It was exhausting, only liking those who were unavailable. And as much as Reverser had driven him crazy with his sullen attitude, he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt him. He was just creating a fake, obnoxious personality so that Nathaniel would leave him alone. 

And that realization broke Nathaniel’s heart.

“How come you’re telling me now?”

Reverser sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. “You said it yourself. After this evening, you’ll never see me again. So I don’t care what you think of me after tonight, whether you’re grossed out or whatever.”

“Hey.” Nathaniel carefully reached for one of the villain’s hands, interlacing the other’s fingers with his own. Something inside his head was screaming in confusion, in cognitive dissonance, but he ignored it. Instead of thinking through what he was doing, he reacted on pure instinct, seeing the other in a different, more somber light. “I don’t think any worse of you. If anything, you seem a lot less of a dick and more . . . sad.”

“Oh.” Reverser still refused to look in his direction, his eyes trained on the floor. His cheeks flushed red further, leading Nathaniel to realize that it hadn’t been makeup before, that his partner really was blushing. “ _God,_ I’m sorry I’ve been so rude. I don’t expect you to forgive me . . . I just don’t want to leave on bad terms.”

Nathaniel didn’t respond at first, watching the crowd as he thought things through. And thinking back to when he’d first met Reverser, not only had he wanted to form a nice friendship, he’d definitely thought about the other villain in a . . . _certain_ light. A _romantic_ one. But he’d repressed that when Reverser started putting on his irritable personality, eventually making Nathaniel forget that those thoughts had run through his head at all. But now, it was all he could remember.

 _That’s_ why he’d kept trying to be civil with Reverser, fearing that the other villain would leave him entirely if he said the wrong thing. It’s why he couldn’t stop thinking about Reverser, despite being so sure that it was due to his hatred. It’s why he’d felt so uncomfortable about Reverser’s reaction to his snarky words, even if he hadn’t realized it at the time. He was just repressing his romantic feelings towards his partner still, feelings that he’d shoved so far down that he’d just barely unearthed them.

“If you’d asked me out, I would’ve said yes.” he murmured.

Reverser turned, head tilted, eyes flicking to meet Nathaniel’s. He didn’t even seem angry anymore, just tired and sad. He didn’t respond either, just stared at him with his bright, bright eyes. His gaze seemed to understand something that Nathaniel didn’t.

“Really.” Nathaniel continued. “I liked you right away. And I think . . . I think I still kinda do. But I just shoved those feelings away, making myself not like you anymore so I wouldn’t fall in love with someone who was going to hurt me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Reverser’s voice was little more than a whisper.

“I know that now. I think . . . I think we did the same thing. Just in a different way.” Nathaniel told him. He bit his lip, thinking through his own actions in the past. Sure enough, he’d been trying to keep up a duality, making himself hate Reverser while also not wanting him to leave. Because Reverser really wasn’t that much of an ass, now that he was thinking about it. He was just irritable and snarky, not the hellish person that Nathaniel had mentally exaggerated him to be. “Damn. We should’ve communicated more.”

“We should’ve.”

“Yeah . . . can we start over?”

Reverser watched, curious, as Nathaniel held out his hand as a sort of peace offering. And without any sort of thought or hesitation, he nodded, eyes serious, as he placed his hand in Nathaniel’s and shook it. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Nathaniel glanced over to the other, viewing his companion in a different light for the first time in what felt like ages. Reverser was very pretty as a civilian, not someone that Nathaniel recognized, but attractive nonetheless. Very androgynous, makeup a lot more extravagant than his akuma form, his clothes neat and striking. And that’s when Nathaniel realized something he should’ve picked on before.

“Hey, um, I never asked you about your pronouns or anything . . . I know it’s kinda late for that, but . . . what would you like me to call you?”

Reverser blinked. “Uh . . . that’s really nice of you. I mean, it doesn’t matter that much, any pronouns are okay for me, so whatever you're calling me now is good, but um, thank you. What about you?”

“Just he/him. Thanks, though.”

They exchanged a tentative smile.

At that moment, the curtain to the stage parted and opened with a flourish. Behind stood Mayor Bourgeois, shaking hands with Ladybug while Chat Noir stood right beside her. Both heroes wore outfits reminiscent of their usual costumes, but Ladybug’s as a dress and Chat’s as a suit and tie, not to mention their usual masks. A banner hung over the stage, thanking Ladybug and Chat Noir for all their services.

“And now, the moment we’ve all waited for!” the mayor exclaimed, drawing the whole crowd’s attention. Everyone started clapping and cheering upon seeing the production.

Reverser let out a low laugh. “Can’t wait.”

“Thank you, Mayor Bourgeois!” Ladybug said, grinning. She took one of the two microphones from an attendant, while Chat Noir took the other, and the team stepped up to the podium. Ladybug’s eyes gazed throughout the crowd, but sure enough, she missed the presence of the disguised Evillustrator and Reverser, as her expression didn’t change at all. Hawkmoth had been right, for a change. “We often address the people of Paris, but it’s always nice to be able to give our announcements to a smaller group. And Chat Noir and I were thrilled to hear that you wanted to hear from us!”

“Hmm.” Nathaniel mused, picking up on the hidden implications of her words. “Wanna bet that they’re just trying to get the rich people to listen for once? I swear, they act like they’re too good to worry about akuma attacks.”

Reverser grinned. “Sure. And with the way Chloe treats everyone, it’s no surprise.”

Nathaniel watched his partner again, watched the way that his eyes lit up while smiling, the way his hair fell in soft waves around his face, the way he seemed to simultaneously blend in and stand out just by being himself. He was amazing—no, not just amazing, but incredible. And so beautiful.

His reason screamed at him, telling him that this was his partner, not a crush that he should follow through with, and that if he got close, everything would just be lost the next day when they left each other for good. That they were here for a job, and they needed to complete that job. But his emotions screamed just as loud, filled with a newfound understanding and awareness of his feelings, especially the feelings for his partner.

And in that moment, emotions won over.

“Hey, I have to use the bathroom. Will you help me find it?” Nathaniel asked.

Reverser turned, his expression a mask of curiosity. Clearly, he was processing the request in his head, searching for some sort of reasoning. “What about Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

Ladybug was still talking, and it seemed to Nathaniel like it’d be a while before she was done . . . and then Chat Noir got to make his own speech . . . so there was plenty of time. “We’ll be back in a minute or so. Just—I don’t want someone to figure out who I am if I go alone. And we have to transform soon, anyway.”

And after a moment of thinking through this, Reverser nodded.

Nathaniel wove his way through the crowd, heading for the back hallway where the bathroom sign was located. In reality, he’d been here before, and he knew the exact place he was headed. And sure enough, he walked right past the bathroom and to a dead end in the back part of the dark hallway, the other villain following his steps until they were only centimeters from each other, hardly visible in the dark.

“The bathroom was back there.”

“Yeah. I know.” Nathaniel took a deep breath, building up the courage to make his request. It was awkward and scary, especially considering what they’d just gone through, but he knew it was quite literally now or never. “Can I kiss you?”

Reverser’s eyes widened under his mask, then narrowed in apparent uncertainty. He fiddled with his jacket sleeve. “You’re not just doing this because I like you?”

“I like you too, idiot.”

“Oh . . . then yeah, please do.”

Nathaniel reached forward and cupped his hands around the other villain’s face, carefully avoiding the mask. Even if he was awkward and new to this, he wanted to make sure he preserved their identities. But he didn’t need to worry too much about the next step, as Reverser leaned back against the wall behind him, staring right into Nathaniel’s eyes with his deep gaze. In turn, Nathaniel leaned toward the other’s face, bringing their lips together.

Damn . . . he’d never kissed anyone before, but this had to be the best kiss he was ever going to have. The way that Reverser wrapped his arms around his shoulders . . . the way that he pressed his lips onto Nathaniel’s like it was keeping him alive . . . the way that their bodies moved closer until Nathaniel could feel the other’s rapid heartbeat . . . 

They broke their faces apart to breathe, but still close enough to be nearly touching. 

“Wow.” Reverser said, breathless. “I _really_ like you.”

As a response, Nathaniel met the other’s lips once more. At this point, he was pressing the other against the wall, but Reverser didn’t seem to mind. So instead of slowing down, he began running gentle hands through the other’s hair, the silky strands soft against his touch. Reverser smiled against his lips, tightening his grip and closing his eyes with his dark lashes fluttering against his pale skin.

And when it seemed like it was time, Nathaniel gently bit at the bottom of the other’s lips, asking for more, and his partner was more than willing to oblige. He still wasn’t fully used to kissing or anything, but it didn’t seem like either of them were, and he was more focused on his newfound feelings towards the person in front of him.

Nathaniel couldn’t lie to himself anymore. 

He genuinely liked—possibly _loved_ —Reverser.

  
  


After what felt like both forever and no time at all, they broke apart for good, both taking a moment to breathe and gather their bearings. Neither had any sort of time-telling device, so it could’ve been a lot longer than they expected, especially considering that they were in a back hallway with no indicators of how much time had actually passed. 

“Oh god.” Reverser said, glancing towards Nathaniel’s face with his expression twisting in concern. “There’s lipstick—oh god, I’m so sorry.”

Nathaniel reached up to his lips, and sure enough, his fingers came back stained with black. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll just clean it off in the bathroom. You should probably reapply yours, though.”

Reverser frowned, uncertain. “But you—”

“Seriously, I’m not upset.” Nathaniel gently pressed another kiss to the other villain’s cheek, just underneath the mask that still concealed his identity. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Reverser attempted a half-smile. “Okay.”

The two headed to the bathroom, Nathaniel wiping the lipstick off his face with a wet paper towel and Reverser pulling a lipstick tube from his pocket to fix up his own. After a bit, they left, heading back to the party.

To both’s horror, most of the room was empty, with only a small number of guests left, many of whom were usuals at the Bourgeois parties. The heroes were long gone, as were most of the others that had come there just to see them. It was just a few groups of the aristocrats left, talking and laughing while holding glasses of champagne. 

“We . . . we missed them.” Reverser whispered.

Making a split-second decision, Nathaniel reached for and clutched his partner’s hand, pulling the two of them towards the door and out into the night. The cold air stung his face, the breeze causing his eyes to water slightly, but that mattered far less than getting away from the hotel. Getting caught was the worst possible outcome.

Well, besides . . . 

“Oh god. Hawkmoth . . .” Reverser was muttering, repeating the same couple of words again and again with his eyes frozen in an expression of terror. He kept clutching a hand against his face, shaking his head. His walk was jittery and abrupt, causing him to nearly stumble a couple times. “Hawkmoth’s going to _kill us_ . . .”

Nathaniel had seen this before. Not with Reverser, but he knew what was going on.

Anxiety attack.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just . . . just breathe for now, okay?” And to help make his point clear, he dragged the other villain to a back alleyway, helping him sit back against the wall and process everything in privacy. “Breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and then exhale for four seconds.”

Reverser did exactly that, his rapid breaths starting to rise and fall in sync after a couple minutes. He kept clutching onto Nathaniel’s hand, tightly enough that his knuckles were white at first, but as his breathing became smoother, his grip relaxed. Eventually, he opened his bright eyes to catch Nathaniel’s gaze, expression uncertain. 

“He’s not going to kill us.” Nathaniel told him firmly. “Maybe he’ll be upset, but we can come up with some kind of story . . . just anything to keep him from revealing our identities publicly. But he’s _not_ going to kill us.”

He left out the fact that he’d been mentally tortured by Hawkmoth long before Reverser joined, just because he hadn’t done what was asked of him quickly enough. That wasn’t a factor he needed to bring in when helping calm his partner down.

Reverser nodded, though his heart didn’t seem in it. His eyes kept darting around, looking for anything to latch onto. “Yeah . . . we’ll come up with something.”

“But in case we never see each other again . . .” Nathaniel paused, feeling the full weight of what he planned to say. This was so risky, and yet . . . caught up in his rapidly changing feelings towards his partner, he knew that he wanted to give their relationship a chance. “My first name’s Nathaniel.”

“Oh.” Reverser seemed to think this through. “My name’s Marc. With a C at the end.”

_Marc._

_His name was Marc._

“I want to see you again, Marc. I want to spend more time with you.” Nathaniel kept his voice light, desperately trying to ignore what had happened, the actions he knew would likely lead to consequences. _“I like you.”_

“I like you, too.” Reverser— _Marc_ —attempted a smile, but it was tinted with something not unlike sadness. “But how can _you_ like _me?_ I’ve been nothing but awful towards you. You really want to be with something like that . . . someone like me?”

“Yeah, I do.” Nathaniel insisted, keeping his tone sure. He wasn’t going to let his partner go down that train of thought, no matter what had happened. Not only had they skipped their duties to make out, but now they were in the same damn situation, with Hawkmoth likely going to retaliate. And he really, genuinely liked Marc’s real personality. “You’re not awful, you were faking it, and trust me when I say I’m really liking the real you.” 

“Oh.” Marc said, processing that.

“Besides.” Nathaniel added, attempting a sly look. “You’re not awful at kissing.”

That seemed to break the stupor. Marc glanced up, meeting Nathaniel’s eyes with an embarrassed, awkward smile evident on his lips. He let out a sharp laugh, clasping his hands together. “Th-thanks. Um, can we do that again sometime?”

Nathaniel gave the setting a once-over, noting that they were indeed hiding between buildings, but it was dark enough that no one would probably see them. Usually, he detested the dark, as it kept him from using his powers, but now he was Nathaniel, not Evillustrator, and he didn’t need that much light at the moment. “How about now?” 

Marc’s eyes lit up. “Yeah. Now works for me.”

And as their lips met in the dark once more, Nathaniel let his anxieties and uncertainties go, fading away into the night. He couldn’t think about that, didn’t want to, not now, not with Marc’s hands on his shoulders and his silky hair tickling his cheeks. Someone who loved him, who was willing to put their rocky past behind to start something new.

He just wanted this moment to last forever.

Nathaniel strode through the school hallway the next day, thanking God with every step he took. Theoretically, he could be thanking Hawkmoth, but thinking about praising him absolutely disgusted Nathaniel, especially since it was Hawkmoth who’d caused all the problems in the first place. 

They hadn’t been murdered or revealed publically, just fired from their positions, which was more than he could ever ask for. They also hadn’t been paid in a while, but honestly, the money didn’t matter to Nathaniel, not as much as his life. They might’ve had a worse treatment, but while they were at the party, Hawkmoth met someone who was apparently _very_ interested in working for him, interested in hurting Ladybug and Chat Noir anyway she could to the point of not caring about payment. So Hawkmoth had been too distracted to bother with anything but insisting that Evillustrator and Reverser were fired, that they had to give up their akumatized objects and never return. Which they were perfectly fine with. Something about the new villain’s motives really unsettled Nathaniel, so in an uncharacteristic act, he made a mental note to somehow warn Ladybug and Chat Noir of anyone going by the name Volpina.

He’d been so lost in thought from the day before that he didn’t even notice he’d slightly wandered towards the other side of the hallway, causing him to accidentally crash into someone and send both of their papers flying across the ground.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you . . . sorry!” the person cried, immediately dropping to their knees to pick up the fallen papers. Nathaniel joined them, gathering some of the artwork in his arms before glancing up to see the person in question.

The first thing he caught sight of was their bright clothes—a rainbow tie-dye shirt and a red hoodie—and the rest of their style being very punk, with dark skinny jeans, combat boots, and fingerless gloves. Then he glanced up a little and noticed the person’s features.

Pale skin . . . dark wavy hair . . . 

And when they looked up, bright green eyes met Nathaniel’s teal ones.

_Could it be . . . ?_

Nathaniel attempted a warm smile. “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t see you either.” He took a deep breath, mentally preparing to ask the one question he knew would be a dead giveaway. It was now or never, he had to give it a try. “Hey, I don’t think that I’ve seen you before. My name’s _Nathaniel,_ what’s yours?”

The other person froze, eyes widening as he fully raised his head. And after a slightly awkward moment of pause, they cautiously responded with, “Nice to meet you, Nathaniel. I’m Marc.” They paused. “Um, Marc with a C.”

_Marc._

This was him.

_Reverser._

This was the person that Nathaniel had grown to hate, then accidentally fallen in love with, culminating in a messy relationship that he wasn’t sure he could figure out. But he’d found his partner again, and they could maybe try again. If Marc was willing to give him a chance, and if he was willing to give Marc one, that is.

“Hey, Marc. I’m off to the school library to draw for a bit, would you like to join me?” 

_Please say yes._

Following Nathaniel’s lead, Marc stood up and adjusted his posture, his movements awkward and slightly unsettling . . . just like Reverser’s. It had to be him. It just had to.

“Yeah, I would.” Marc agreed, quickly gathering his things and moving to stand right by Nathaniel, his eyes flicking slightly downward, his expression relaxing. Before Nathaniel could say anything, Marc leaned closer, right against Nathaniel’s ear, and whispered, _“Evillustrator?”_

 _“Reverser.”_ Nathaniel replied, unable to keep his lips from forming a smile. “I’m glad I found you, and that we’re okay.” He placed a gentle hand on Marc’s far shoulder, who in turn smiled and pulled him into a side hug. “Did you want to go, then?”

Marc nodded, the smile lingering on his lips. “I’d love to.”

And they walked together, hand in hand, off to the library, Nathaniel continually looking over at his new-and-old companion. His enemy, his friend, his love. Less mysterious, still incredible. Maybe their relationship would be long-term, maybe it wouldn’t, but he wanted to enjoy the other’s presence for as long as he could.

Marc, having picked up on the fact that Nathaniel was stealing glances at him, met his gaze, his jade eyes just as bright as the night before, if not brighter. And with a smile, he confirmed that yesterday hadn’t been the end of their relationship.

It was just the beginning.


End file.
